Nothing.
Doogie pushed himself in front of her, between her and the open doorway, still growling.
Laura stepped back and closed the door. Doogie pushed into her arms and licked her face.
The scene changed. Still the apartment. The otherworldly aspect was gone and it was back to before the attack. Once again there was a knock on the door. Doogie looked up and gently took her hand in his mouth, leading her away from the door.
The rear door swung open, the shadow filling the doorway. Doogie bristled, advanced. Laura tried to hold him back without success. The dog stalked the shadow, and when he reached the back door he leapt, attacking. The shadow blew apart and the door slammed shut. Doogie walked back to her wagging his tail and letting her stroke his ears.
That’s when she woke. Doogie looked over at her. She smiled, petting his head. “Good boy.”
His tail thumped once on the bed.
Laura retrieved her dream notebook and wrote furiously. The dream was so different from what she’d had before. Maybe Doogie’s presence had something to do with it.
She wouldn’t take any chances.
Bill cooked her dinner and they watched TV. Laura sat in listless silence.
“You want to talk?” He knew she’d had rough dreams that afternoon.
“No. It’s just the same old stuff.”
“You’re so stubborn, sis.”
“Doesn’t it run in the family?”
He laughed. “Yes, it does. And you got a heaping share.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Laura woke before dawn. She walked to the living room and peeked through the blinds. She found out she used to jog. Not religiously but usually once or twice a week, preferring early morning when the sun wasn’t hot.
Before.
She used to go to work and take out classes, dive by herself on pleasure trips, enjoyed her lifestyle.
Before.
She used to take long walks with Doogie, enjoyed taking him to the dog park, loved riding around.
Now, she felt like a hostage, always looking over her shoulder, feeling guilty and resentful at the same time because everyone she loved felt responsible for her safety.
Doogie woke up and walked to her side. He nuzzled her hand.
“Gotta go out?”
He wagged his otter tail.
Her robe hung over the back of the bathroom door. She slipped into it and put the gun in the pocket, knotting the belt around her waist to keep the gun’s weight from pulling it down.
She slipped the leash on Doogie and turned off the alarm before they went out the back door. It was nearly dawn and she cautiously looked around the yard while Doogie sniffed the ground. Every sound, every movement set her on edge. She smelled the methane from the rotten vegetation in the mangrove swampland on the other side of the trees, heard a raccoon rummaging in the brush, a mockingbird sounding off in a nearby tree.
“C’mon, Doog. Get it done.”
“Laur?”
She jumped at the sound of Bill’s voice. “Yeah?”
“You okay?” He was barely awake, and had Rob’s gun in his hand, held along his thigh.
“I’m fine. Just walking the brat.”
“Want me to finish up with him?”
At that moment Doogie decided he was done and led Laura back toward the house. “I guess not.”
He locked the door behind her and reached down to pet the dog. “Rob wouldn’t like you going out there by yourself.” He reset the alarm.
“I’m going stir crazy.”
Her appointment with Dr. Collins didn’t trigger any new memories, unfortunately.
But with the way she was feeling, she finally let Bill talk her into seeing her general practitioner about her other symptoms. Her regular doctor was out of town, so she had to see one of his partners, whom she’d never seen before. The doctor examined her, including taking blood work and a urine sample. After he was finished, Bill returned to the exam room to wait with her.
The doctor walked in with her chart and smiled. “Congratulations, you two.”
Bill and Laura looked at each other in confusion. Bill spoke first. “Sorry?”
The doctor smiled at him. “You’re going to be a father.”
Laura’s jaw hit the floor but Bill recovered first. “Uh, this is my sister, not my wife.”
The doctor blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought—”
Laura shook her head. “I can’t be pregnant. I had my period a few weeks ago.”
The doctor was still trying to recover from his error. “I thought the nurse said you were married, Laura.”
“I am married. My husband’s at work. My brother is visiting us for a few weeks. Are you sure? I mean, I had my period.”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, we’re sure. It’s not uncommon for a woman to have one or more episodes that look like periods in their early pregnancy.”
Laura did the math and closed her eyes. “Crap.” She’d be about five weeks along, or less.
Bill reached over and took her hand. “I thought you guys wanted—”
“We do. We did. Then we decided to wait for a while, see if they can catch the psycho first.”
“Oh.”
She looked at the doctor. “Oh, god, I’ve had wine—”
The doctor smiled. “As long as you’re not doing any drugs or smoking or anything like that, chances are, the baby’s fine. Since you’re here, let’s do an ultrasound and some more blood work, okay?”
She nodded, numb. The doctor left to order the tests and she looked at Bill, her eyes wet. “What am I going to do?”
“I’d say the first thing is to tell Rob.”
She closed her eyes. “He’s working until tomorrow. Double shift.”
They quietly waited until the doctor and nurse returned. An hour later they were finished, but the doctor recommended she not do any diving considering the fairly recent trauma she’d been through.
“Better to err on the side of caution,” he said.
Bill waited for Laura while she checked out and made a follow-up appointment for a few weeks later. He browsed a fishing magazine in the waiting area when he heard a man’s voice speak Laura’s name.
Bill looked up and saw a man in a suit emerge from the back. Laura visibly bristled.
“Oh, hello,” she said.
Bill stood, waiting for a cue she needed him to intercede. The guy looked like a salesman, probably a pharmacy rep. Two others had come and gone earlier while they awaited Laura’s turn.
The nurse behind the counter handed Laura an appointment card and some paperwork. “Mrs. Carlton, do you want any brochures, or need a referral to a Lamaze class?”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll get that from you next time.”
The nurse turned to the man. “Hi, Don. Didn’t see you come in. I thought you weren’t due until next week. Did you need anything else?”
He smiled, but Bill didn’t like the look of him. “No, I’m okay, Della, thanks. I was in the area, thought I’d pop in. Tell the doc I’ll stop by next week to see if he needs anything.” He turned to Laura. “How are you?”
Laura forced a smile. “I’m fine, thank you.” Then she turned back to the nurse. “Am I all set?”
Della nodded. “Yes, we’ll see you back in three weeks.”
“Thank you.” Laura turned to walk away. “Nice seeing you, Mr. Kern.”
Bill fell into step beside her and sensed her agitation. In the car he quickly locked the doors once they were inside. “Okay, sis. What’s that about? Who was he?”
She filled him in. “Customer from the shop. It unnerved me seeing him there until I remembered he’s a pharmaceutical sales rep. And Englewood is a very small town.”
“So he’s just creepy?”